It had been over a month since Shen Miao left Dingcheng city.

No one knew where the Prince of Rui’s wedding procession had reached by now, but it was certainly too far to catch up. During this month and more, the talk of that magnificent wedding procession and splendid bride had not yet subsided in Dingcheng. In teahouses, storytellers recounted the grand occasion of the Prince of Rui’s wedding day, with guests filling every seat, the storytellers reciting with animated gestures while the guests listened with rapt attention.

After all, such a grand gesture was not something everyone could afford.

After Shen Miao transformed into the Princess of Rui and followed the Prince to marry far away in Great Liang, two incidents occurred in Dingcheng.

One was that the Fengxian Pawnshop, which had been open in Dingcheng for many years, suddenly closed its doors. Overnight, from the manager to the clerks, everyone disappeared. The several buildings and shops of Fengxian Pawnshop were sold to others at low prices. It was rumored that something urgent had happened in the manager’s family, requiring money for an emergency, which led to the sudden departure. This made people somewhat wistful. Although Fengxian Pawnshop conducted business with discretion, and those who came to pawn or buy things were either wealthy or noble, with ordinary people unable to afford their services, it had been operating for so many years that its sudden departure left people feeling uncomfortable.

It was only after this change in ownership that the common people discovered that in all these years, no one had ever seen what the manager of Fengxian Pawnshop looked like.

The second incident was that the mighty General Shen Xin was promoted after his daughter’s marriage. He was elevated to Military Governor, overseeing the entire dynasty’s Imperial Guards.

On the surface, it was a promotion, but in reality, it was not. First, the Military Governor only had the authority to issue orders but not to train troops, merely an empty shell of an idle position. Although the salary was more generous than that of a general, who lived on salary alone? Furthermore, Shen Xin had always trained the Shen family troops, which were his soldiers. Suddenly switching to the Imperial Guards, who were Emperor Wenhui’s men, it was doubtful whether Shen Xin could truly command them.

So those with eyes and brains knew that Emperor Wenhui was guarding against Shen Xin. Shen Miao had married into Great Liang, and Shen Xin was known to dote on his daughter. With the current delicate relationship between Great Liang and Ming Qi, if Shen Xin favored his daughter and secretly allied with Great Liang, doing something unfavorable to Ming Qi, that would be disastrous.

Although Shen Xin had served as a general in the Ming Qi for many years, with loyalty as clear as day, emperors throughout history had been suspicious. Who could blame him for being a subject while others were rulers? He could only blame his misfortune.

Court officials understood this clearly, but the common people felt indignant on Shen Xin’s behalf. The royal family was too heartless. It was Emperor Wenhui who granted the marriage, yet now he felt uncomfortable about this alliance and made Shen Xin bear the responsibility. It was truly infuriating.

Emperor Wenhui didn’t care about these matters. He was currently busy trying to please the Emperor of Qin State. For some reason, Great Liang always made him feel uneasy, as if it were a potential danger. At the very least, he needed to ally with Qin State; otherwise, he truly couldn’t sleep soundly day after day.

The Prince of Ding’s manor had not been very cheerful lately either.

Fu Xiuyi, with a gloomy expression, said, “It’s been a month, and still no trace of Pei Lang. Could he have vanished into thin air? If you don’t find him, dead or alive, don’t bother coming back.”

The spies below responded timidly, and Fu Xiuyi irritably waved his hand: “Get out!”

Several people scurried away in terror.

He sat down in a chair, pressing his forehead, his expression somewhat displeased.

The person who rescued Pei Lang had set fire to his dungeon. He hadn’t felt it much before, but these days, Fu Xiuyi found it inconvenient to do many things. Many people in the dungeon had other uses for him, but they had all been burned to nothing by that fire. Fu Xiuyi’s irritation can be imagined.

What frustrated him most was that the search for Pei Lang’s whereabouts had not yielded a single clue until now. Fu Xiuyi prided himself on being sharp-eyed and keen-eared in Dingcheng, but failing to locate a single person could only mean that the other party was even more skilled than he was. Having such an opponent was certainly not a happy matter.

Fu Xiuyi had always suspected that the person behind Pei Lang was from the Shen family, but after investigation, all suspicions regarding the Shen family could be ruled out. If not the Shen family, who could it be?

“Your Highness, there’s no news of Pei Lang inside or outside Dingcheng. Could it be that Pei Lang has already left the city?” an advisor reminded Fu Xiuyi.

“Impossible,” Fu Xiuyi said. “The city guards have my men. These days, everyone leaving the city has been checked against a portrait. Pei Lang can’t pass through safely.”

Hearing this, the advisor frowned, not knowing what else to say.

“However, some people don’t need portraits,” Fu Xiuyi suddenly said. “When the Prince of Rui’s wedding procession left the city that day, no one stopped the guards and soldiers of the Prince’s manor.”

The advisor’s eyes lit up: “Could it be that Pei Lang mixed in with the Prince of Rui’s people and left with them?”

Fu Xiuyi sneered: “The Prince of Rui’s manor is heavily guarded; how could one mix in? Besides, Pei Lang has no connection with the Prince of Rui, how could he blend in?” He suddenly stopped speaking: “Connection?”

At this moment, Fu Xiuyi suddenly remembered something. All along, he had viewed Pei Lang as a person of the “Shen family,” with Shen Xin being the decision-maker of the “Shen family.” But he had overlooked one point: from many incidents, it appeared that what had hindered his great cause, intentionally or unintentionally, was related to Shen Miao.

If “Shen family” and “Shen Miao” were viewed separately, and Pei Lang was loyal to “Shen Miao” rather than the “Shen family,” everything would make sense.

Pei Lang was Shen Miao’s man. Shen Miao was now the Princess of Rui, and before that, she seemed to have had some unclear relationship with the Prince of Rui. The Prince of Rui, considering Shen Miao, might have helped rescue Pei Lang.

Then Pei Lang and the Prince of Rui were also connected.

Fu Xiuyi suddenly stood up, thinking more and more that this was possible. In the entire Dingcheng city, the only person capable of burning the Prince of Ding’s dungeon without a trace, escaping unharmed, and leaving not a single clue behind seemed to be this mysterious Prince of Rui.

“Damn it!” Fu Xiuyi slammed the table. He had always wanted to know what secret the Prince of Rui was hiding. But the night before Shen Miao’s wedding, the spy he sent out never returned, presumably discovered and silenced. Otherwise, he would have known what deep secret the Prince of Rui was concealing.

Just as he was fretting, a guard hurriedly entered from outside. This person was Fu Xiuyi’s confidant. He quickly approached, took out a letter from his bosom, and said, “A letter was sent from the Princess’s manor to the palace. I intercepted it and made a copy. Your Highness, please take a look.”

Fu Xiuyi’s heart stirred, and he hurriedly took the letter. Regarding the Prince of Rui, Princess Rongxin had also behaved quite abnormally. Fu Xiuyi was eager to find out something, but since the Prince of Rui and Shen Miao left the capital, neither Princess Rongxin nor the Marquis of Pingnan’s manor had done anything unusual. They continued their daily routines, giving him no opportunity to take action.

Princess Rongxin had been widowed for many years and was not particularly close to Emperor Wenhui. She rarely entered the palace in a year, let alone actively writing letters. It was fortunate that Princess Rongxin had stayed away from the palace for so many years, allowing Fu Xiuyi to obtain a copy of her letter so easily.

Fu Xiuyi pulled out the letter and began reading eagerly. At first, his expression was merely anxious, but as time passed, his face changed.

He appeared extremely shocked and angry, along with intense rage, his features somewhat distorted. The advisor beside him, seeing him like this, didn’t dare to breathe a sound. After a moment, Fu Xiuyi suddenly supported himself on the table with one hand and violently overturned the teapot.

The spilled tea water spread across the floor, startling both the advisor and the confidant. Fu Xiuyi was generally a person who didn’t show emotions openly. Although he occasionally had moments of anger, they were never as exposed as now. It seemed to be the first time they had seen him lose composure like this.

Fu Xiuyi only uttered the word “Good!” and violently threw the letter in the advisor’s face. The advisor hurriedly caught it and was shocked upon reading it.

In the letter, Princess Rongxin brought up a matter concerning the Prince of Rui. Everyone knew that because of Princess Rongxin’s close relationship with Princess Yuqing, she had also taken great care of Xie Jingxing, born to Princess Yuqing. She had even fallen out with the Marquis of Lin’an’s manor for Xie Jingxing’s sake. Later, when Xie Jingxing died on the battlefield two years ago, Princess Rongxin was quite sorrowful for a time.

Princess Rongxin naturally understood Xie Jingxing, and in the letter, she raised a shocking matter: Princess Rongxin felt that the Prince of Rui from Great Liang bore a striking resemblance to Xie Jingxing.

This was without evidence; to suddenly say that Great Liang’s Prince of Rui resembled a person who had been dead for more than two years would naturally seem absurd at first. But Fu Xiuyi had been watching the Princess’s manor for so long and had already discovered Princess Rongxin’s unusual behavior. Needless to say, Fu Xiuyi could almost be certain that Princess Rongxin was telling the truth.

Without a doubt, that Prince of Rui from Great Liang was Xie Jingxing.

The advisor’s hands could barely hold the letter steady. Xie Jingxing being the Prince of Rui—what did that represent? It meant that Xie Jingxing had been playing the entire Ming Qi in the palm of his hand. If Xie Jingxing had already had private dealings with Great Liang when he was still the heir of the Marquis of Lin’an, then everything that happened in Ming Qi was probably known to Great Liang.

“Y-Your Highness,” the advisor looked at Fu Xiuyi, a trace of panic flashing in his eyes.

Fu Xiuyi had indeed gradually calmed down, but looking carefully, his hands seemed to still be trembling.

“Since Xie Jingxing isn’t dead, the matter of the Xie family army in the northern border must have been exposed,” he said slowly.

There were royal family members mixed in the Xie family army, and Xie Ding’s confidant among them had stabbed Xie Jingxing with a fatal blow. Since Xie Jingxing wasn’t dead, he must have investigated the details. This also meant that everything they had done to the Marquis of Lin’an’s manor had been under Xie Jingxing’s watchful eye. So what was Xie Jingxing doing on this tributary mission to Ming Qi? Was he here for revenge?

Fu Xiuyi supported himself on the table.

The advisor was also at a loss, and after a pause, he said, “Since the Princess has already sent this letter to the palace, His Majesty will know and will take action.”

“Useless,” Fu Xiuyi interrupted him. “Xie Jingxing has already been gone from Dingcheng for over a month. Father Emperor fears Great Liang’s momentum and doesn’t dare to confront him openly. If Xie Jingxing were still here, we could use the people of the world to stir up trouble, but unfortunately, it’s too late now.”

The advisor also sighed with regret: “Why didn’t the Princess bring out this letter earlier? If it had been one step earlier, we wouldn’t be so helpless now.”

Fu Xiuyi glanced at him, seemingly displeased with his subordinate’s stupidity. The advisor felt uneasy under his gaze. Then Fu Xiuyi said, “Foolish. The Princess must have tried to notify Father Emperor before, perhaps the night before the wedding. But in the end, just like my men, she was intercepted by Xie Jingxing.”

Although he tried hard to suppress his anger, his eyes couldn’t hide his resentment: “Xie Jingxing hid it too deeply!”

“What about the Shen family?” the advisor asked.

“Keep watching them,” Fu Xiuyi sneered. “I want to see if the Shen family was truly unaware of Xie Jingxing’s identity, or if they’ve been pretending all these years.”

At this moment, the people in the Shen residence were still unaware of what had happened in the Prince of Ding’s manor.

Since Shen Xin was promoted to Military Governor, as he no longer needed to personally lead troops, he didn’t have to go to the Ministry of War daily. Shen Qiu still held his old position, serving as a small leader in the garrison with Luo Ling. However, their days were much more relaxed than before.

Luo Xueyan consulted with Shen Xin: “How about asking His Majesty to let us return to Xiaochun City in a few days?” Luo Xueyan sighed. “At least in Xiaochun City, we wouldn’t be wasting time like this.”

Shen Xin shook his head: “His Majesty keeps us in Dingcheng to guard against the Shen family’s movements. He won’t let us return to Xiaochun City. Staying in Dingcheng as pawns to restrain Miao Miao will make things easier in the future.”

Luo Xueyan vaguely felt that there was something strange about Shen Xin’s words, as if he was hinting at something. Just as she was about to ask, she heard Shen Xin sigh: “Besides, there’s still no news from Tan’er. If we went back, I wouldn’t dare to face Father-in-law and Brother-in-law.”

“That’s true,” Luo Xueyan felt a headache at the mention of this. “I’ve already sent people to pass a message to Miao Miao and the others, but Xie Jingxing’s people travel quickly. I don’t know if they caught up. It takes time to go back and forth, and with no news yet, my heart is quite unsettled.”

On the day of Shen Miao’s wedding procession leaving the city, Luo Tan hadn’t come to see her off. She said it was because Shen Miao wouldn’t take her to Great Liang, so she was sulking and didn’t want to witness the parting scene. Luo Tan had always been somewhat willful in the Shen family, and everyone was helpless about it. After Shen Miao left the city that day, they returned in the evening. Luo Tan’s maid said Luo Tan had already gone to bed. Luo Xueyan, thinking that Luo Tan was unhappy, didn’t disturb her.

It wasn’t that Luo Xueyan didn’t care about her niece, but while everyone knew Luo Tan was bold, they hadn’t expected her to be this daring. When Luo Tan had secretly followed Shen Xin and the others to Dingcheng, it was because they were family, and they were all still in Ming Qi. This time, however, it was from Ming Qi to Great Liang, a completely unfamiliar foreign country. Everyone traveling with them was the Prince of Rui’s people, whom Luo Tan didn’t know. It seemed she wouldn’t dare.

Who would have thought that this Miss Luo had such an impetuous character and would even dare to ride alone for thousands of miles? It wasn’t until noon the next day, when Luo Tan still refused to leave her room, claiming to be unwell, that Luo Xueyan finally realized something was wrong. When she went to find her, Luo Tan’s maid was trembling, kneeling with a letter, begging for forgiveness.

So, riding alone for thousands of miles, Luo Tan had dashed left a letter and followed in her little cousin’s footsteps to Great Liang, a place full of food and goods, with crowded markets.

Luo Xueyan was startled and immediately sent people to chase after her. But Shen Miao’s people had already been gone for a day, and the Prince of Rui’s procession was no ordinary group—they traveled very quickly. Who knew when they could catch up? After a month without news, Shen Xin and Luo Xueyan were still worried about this matter.

“I just hope the letter reached Xie Jingxing, and he can send reliable people to bring Tan’er back,” Luo Xueyan said.

How would Luo Tan know about these matters in Dingcheng? Even if she knew, she would pretend not to have heard, because there were more important things at hand right now.

It was evening again, and the caravan was about to rest. Shen Miao had naturally been arranged to stay in houses along the way, but Luo Tan was in a miserable state.

She had mixed in with the group of warriors in the Prince of Rui’s caravan to catch up. Having grown up with the Luo family, she had none of the delicate airs of a young lady, and her disguise as a man was convincing, so no one had discovered her identity for the moment. But nighttime was extremely painful for her. Unlike Princess Shen Miao, who could have her room, the caravan’s warriors slept a dozen or more men to a room, with some on beds, some on floor mats, and some even pushing tables and chairs together to sleep on.

Luo Tan wasn’t pampered—she could tolerate beds, tables, chairs, or floor mats. The only thing she couldn’t tolerate was sleeping with more than ten strange men. The snoring, heavy breathing, and sleep-talking at night, along with various odors, and men occasionally putting their legs on her, was truly worse than death for Luo Tan. If Luo Liantai and Madam Ma knew about this, they would probably break her legs.

But what Luo Tan found most terrifying was bathing.

No matter how rough she might be in daily life, she couldn’t go without bathing for ten or more days like these men, nor could she tolerate jumping into a lake with all the men whenever they found one. A few times before, she was almost pushed in along with everyone else, frightening her to the point where she nearly screamed out. Finally, a quick thought saved her—she claimed she had very ugly scars on her body and didn’t want others to see them. Although the warriors thought she was fussy, they stopped pressuring her.

Today, there happened to be a hot spring behind the farmhouse, and the water looked very clear. In the evening, the warriors had already bathed, but she hadn’t. Now the moon had risen, and no one could see. Luo Tan secretly carried her clothes out.

She walked a long way in the dark before reaching the lakeside. Looking around, it was already late at night, and everyone was sound asleep. Even if someone got up in the middle of the night to use the latrine, they wouldn’t come this far. Luo Tan relaxed, quickly undressed, and entered the water wearing only her undergarments.

The hot spring water was warm and comfortable. Luo Tan hadn’t enjoyed such a pleasant bath for a long time. She had been sneaking out at night to burn wood and bathe, which was very troublesome, but now she felt extremely happy.

Looking at the moon in the sky, she thought: It’s been more than a month, and it seems Luo Xueyan’s people haven’t caught up yet; they probably won’t be able to. Even if they did catch up, it would be impossible to go back now. Since that’s the case, should she be honest with Shen Miao? Her little cousin had a sharp tongue but a soft heart and wouldn’t do anything to her. This way, she could sleep in Shen Miao’s room and wouldn’t have to bathe so furtively anymore.

Just as she was thinking, she suddenly heard footsteps approaching from a distance. Luo Tan was startled, fearing someone was coming. She felt helpless but didn’t dare to linger. The footsteps were already very close, so she quickly grabbed her clothes from the rock and submerged herself in the water.

Luo Tan knew how to swim, but keeping her head underwater was not an easy task. The footsteps stopped at the edge of the hot spring but wouldn’t leave. Luo Tan gradually found it very difficult to breathe and wanted to surface, but she was only wearing undergarments, and if she emerged, her reputation would be ruined.

No matter how carefree she usually was, at this moment, Luo Tan had to protect her honor.

She had the stubborn temperament of the Luo family—the person stopped at the edge of the hot spring and wouldn’t leave, so Luo Tan determinedly remained underwater, refusing to surface. But as time passed, Luo Tan’s vision began to blur, her mind grew fuzzy, and she felt she might perish here. She then felt sorrowful, thinking that to preserve her honor, she would have to sacrifice herself here. It was a pity she hadn’t even reached Great Liang yet!

She heard someone above speaking indistinctly: “Not bad at swimming. Are you planning to suffocate yourself?”

Luo Tan’s heart stirred. She couldn’t hold her breath any longer and suddenly surfaced. But she still had enough presence of mind to only expose her head, keeping her body hidden underwater. Fortunately, the hot spring’s vapors made it impossible to see her body clearly; otherwise, Luo Tan would have died of shame.

“Tsk,” the person said, “I thought you would last longer.”

Luo Tan glared at the person angrily, but when she saw his appearance, she was stunned, exclaiming blankly, “Doctor Gao?”

The young man crouching by the lake, holding a pink lantern, smiling as he looked at her—who else could it be but Gao Yang? In such cold weather, he still had the interest to gently fan himself with the folding fan he never parted with, his leisurely manner making one quite vexed.

“What are you doing here?” Luo Tan couldn’t help asking.

Gao Yang smiled without speaking.

Luo Tan thought to herself, the man was Ming Qi’s Imperial Physician, yet he appeared at such a distant place from Dingcheng city. Could it be that he had come to treat patients in such a remote place? She asked, “Doctor Gao, do you even take business from such remote patients? Does the court give you so little money that you have to work so hard?” In her words, there was undisguised sympathy.

Gao Yang was taken aback by Luo Tan’s words, and after a moment, he said, “It’s not what you think.”

Luo Tan looked at him: “Then why are you here?”

Gao Yang stared at her calmly: “Why are you here?”

“I—” Luo Tan rightfully justified, “I am my little cousin’s dowry cousin, accompanying her to Great Liang!”

Gao Yang almost laughed out loud. Dowry cousin—she really could come up with such terms. He said, “Oh, a few days ago I met someone who seemed to have come from the Shen residence, carrying a letter for the Princess of Rui, but he didn’t know where to find her and asked me for directions.”

Luo Tan was shocked: “Did you let him see my little cousin?”

Gao Yang shrugged: “No, I saw that he was travel-worn and very tired, so I kept him with me until he rested enough to go.”

Luo Tan first sighed in relief, then grew tense: “Doctor Gao, you must not let this person see the Princess of Rui.”

“Why not?”

“He’s a bad person,” Luo Tan said. “He wants to frame me. You must not.”

Gao Yang smiled: “Frame you? Frame you for mixing into the Prince of Rui’s caravan from the Shen residence, following them to Great Liang?”

Luo Tan: “You—” After several “you”s, Luo Tan stared at Gao Yang, speechless.

“What to do?” Gao Yang seemed quite troubled. “If I bring this person to the Prince of Rui, you’ll be sent back to Dingcheng, possibly tomorrow.”

Luo Tan blurted out, “No way!” Having come so far with great effort, sleeping with those warriors for a month, only to have everything wasted at this point, she couldn’t accept it. She looked at Gao Yang with determination: “What do I need to say for you to keep my secret?”

Gao Yang said: “That’s more like it. If you had said this earlier, I wouldn’t have had to waste time here with you.”

Luo Tan: “…”

Why did she feel like Gao Yang had been waiting for her to say this?

“What do you want me to do?” Luo Tan asked.

Gao Yang glanced at her and said, “Come out first.”

Luo Tan suddenly remembered that she was still wearing only undergarments while talking to Gao Yang. Although he couldn’t see, she still felt embarrassed, her cheeks suddenly turning bright red. Fortunately, it was dark, and Gao Yang couldn’t notice.

She said, “My clothes are all wet, I can’t go out. Could you find me some clothes?” Earlier, to hide from the approaching person and to prevent her identity from being discovered, she had no choice but to clutch her clothes and submerge underwater. Now all her clothes were wet, and she certainly couldn’t wear them out.

Gao Yang thought for a moment and started to take off his clothes. Luo Tan was frightened: “What are you doing?”

Gao Yang took off his clothes and deliberately handed them to her: “Just giving you clothes to wear. What were you thinking?”

“Turn around,” Luo Tan felt that today this Doctor Gao was particularly annoying. When dealing with him, she was being played like a fool.

Gao Yang turned around, muttering, “There’s nothing worth seeing anyway.”

Luo Tan didn’t hear this remark. She just emerged from the water, hid behind a rock, and quickly put on Gao Yang’s clothes. His clothes were a bit large for her, but she couldn’t worry about that now.

After dressing, Luo Tan said to Gao Yang, “You can turn around now.”

Gao Yang then turned back with a smile.

“Tell me, what’s your condition?” Luo Tan asked.

“How have you been sleeping these days?” Gao Yang asked a question instead.

“Sleeping with everyone else, of course,” Luo Tan answered matter-of-factly.

“From now on, sleep in my room.”

“Why should I?” Luo Tan was angry: “Men and women should not touch hands!”

“You’re a woman?” Gao Yang smiled.

“That’s right, and you’re not a man,” Luo Tan immediately retorted.

Gao Yang said softly, “That messenger is still in my room right now.”

“I’ll sleep there, I’ll sleep there!” Luo Tan quickly said. “I’ll go sleep right away!”

Gao Yang walked away, fanning himself, with Luo Tan following behind.

Why did she feel that the current Gao Yang seemed like a different person compared to the easily bullied Doctor Gao from before?

It was as if he had revealed his true nature.